Afghanistan Cricket Board has disclosed the line-up of 15 players for the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka, which will be held on 2nd, 4th, and 7th June 2021. The team includes Abdul Rahman, an emerging fast bowler who recently joined the Afghanistan team.
While Afghanistan has already qualified for the World Cup, which is going to happen later this year, Sri Lanka will have to participate in qualifiers to achieve a spot in the event, which will take place in India.
Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Mirwais Ashraf, has stated that the team is aiming to create a cohesive unit of players and prepare them for the World Cup. For this purpose, they have selected a few young players to participate in the series against Sri Lanka.
The board also announced some reserve players, including Shahidullah Kamal, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, and Gulbadin Naib, all of whom were a part of the Afghanistan team that toured Sri Lanka last November. Afghanistan’s ODI squad is full of seasoned players like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Noor Ahmed, who are currently playing in the Indian Premier League.
The Afghanistan cricket team has also planned to play a three-match ODI series against Pakistan before the World Cup. Moreover, the Asia Cup will bring together Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal in September.
Here’s a List of the Squad Players:
- Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain)
- Rahmat Shah
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Ibrahim Zadran
- Riaz Hassan
- Najibullah Zadran
- Mohammad Nabi
- Ikram Alikhail
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Rashid Khan
- Mujib Ur Rahman
- Noor Ahmad
- Abdul Rahman
- Fazalhaq Farooqi
- Farid Ahmad Malik